Chapter 3 - Braiding
The rest of the interview appointments didn't seem to be going much better, until an interesting pair of women walked in. The tall blonde smiled widely. "I'm Rosalie Hale, and this is Tanya Denali. We're here to apply for positions. I specialize in women's hair, face and body. If it's hairy, I know what to do with it. Tanya is a nail technician and is also certified in massage and aromatherapy."
"I can handle any appendage," Tanya said proudly.
"Appendage?" Edward hissed in my ear. "First, you want Mr. Pierced and Tattooed, and now you want an appendage rubber. I think you've deceived me, Ms. Swan. I told you that I won't stand for this place to be…"
"Mr. Cullen, I believe Ms. Denali was referring to arms, legs, feet, and hands?"
She nodded quickly. "I also give good head…"
"Oh, my heavens!" Edward snapped.
I jerked him away from the interview table. "Get ahold of yourself. You're being completely inappropriate. This is not junior high. She didn't say penis, she said head." I smacked him on the back of his and took my place back at the table and picked up their resumes.
"As I was saying, I'm talented at scalp massages, and I could also help with the shampooing," Ms. Denali clarified.
I smiled, when I saw they both had current licenses. It was insane the amount of people who had just walked in here thinking they could cut hair all willy-nilly.
"I see all your paperwork is in order. What would be your goal of working here?" I asked both.
"Well, it's rumored that this place is going to be big. I'd like to establish a solid client base. Repeat customers are the best way to boost business. Not to sound conceited, but I'm extremely talented and work quickly. I can style a wedding party of six in just three hours, and that includes shampoos and cuts. My customers don't feel rushed, though. I just have fast hands." Rosalie pulled a pair of shears off her belt and spun them too fast to see, popping them from hand to hand, and then put them back in her belt like a gunslinger. "I'm ambidextrous. It makes for fast easy work, and it entertains the customers."
"Impressive," I said and looked to Edward to see if he was as impressed as I was. I could only guess that he was, as he was flinging his hands around, trying to mimic the blurred motions we'd just witnessed.
"I see you've also turned in applications for an apartment."
"Yes, we plan to share." Tanya squeezed Rosalie's hand and kissed her fingers.
"You're lesbians? First, tattoos and body piercing, and now-"
"Edward, choose your next words very carefully," I snapped.
"You're a lesbian, too?" he gaped at me, shocked.
"Too?" we heard Emmett walk in. He was Edward's older brother and our construction manager. "You all are lesbians? Man, that's a crying shame," he complained, with his eyes fixed on Rosalie.
"I can't speak for Ms. Swan, but sweet Tanya here is, and I'm bisexual," she gave Emmett a taunting grin. "Both is nice."
He bit his fist, groaning, "Fuck, that's hot."
She giggled at him. "Yes, it can be."
"Please, tell me you're hiring her," Emmett whispered a little too loudly.
"I'm definitely leaning that way. I just need to-"
"Work on Mr. Stuffy Pants, gotcha. I have faith. You got Mr. Tats hired, you can get Ms. Hottie McNaughty hired. I'm counting on you," he whispered a little lower.
"Ms. Hale, Ms. Denali, you'll hear from us soon," I said with a big grin.
Emmett followed the women out, and I glared down at Edward. "Thank heavens they're qualified and licensed. You just about opened us up to a lawsuit. They're hired, Edward, and don't you dare give me any lip on this one!"
His eyes widened. "What?"
"The Equal Employment Act…it covers this, Edward. The Fair Housing Act covers the apartment as well. Check out their credit scores and background and let them know they're in when they qualify."
"I…ah…" Edward stuttered, as Emmett came back in.
"So, Bella, you're a lesbian. Rose is hot, am I right or what?" Emmett gave me a salacious grin.
"I'm not a lesbian, but she is hot."
He fist bumped me. "Hell yeah, she is. I'll be upstairs getting her place ready." He disappeared up the stairs and left me with a bereft-looking Edward.
"My grandparents would be rolling over in their graves."
"Edward, are you prejudiced?" I asked gently. He did seem naive on all matters female.
"Just old-fashioned, doesn't anyone want the picket fence and kids dream anymore? They're all loft apartments and careers." I was about to say something, but he put his hand up to stop me. "I mean no disrespect. I respect a woman's right to work outside of the home and earn a fair wage. It's just…maybe I want someone a little more old-fashioned, who'd like babies and not see them as a burden or a setback in their life. I get that I'd be the dad and help out fifty-fifty, you know, but everyone's all 'free love' and 'who needs a real relationship' these days. Nobody wants to take the time to actually build something that lasts a lifetime anymore or even believes it's a good thing to do."
The poor boy looked like he was about to break into tears. It was obvious he'd had his innocence discouraged and maybe even mocked. I couldn't help it, I pulled him into a hug, and his arms came up awkwardly around me. "It's alright, Edward. There are still people out there who want that. I know I do. Family is extremely important to me." I cupped his face, so he'd see the truth in my words. "The picket fence dream isn't dead."
He blushed, and I backed away, realizing how close I was to him. Our chests were actually touching, and it left my body all tingly and hot. "Now, let's find the last two tenants and workers."
We had five more applicants, and thankfully, we found three more people to add to our team. Jessica was a sweet nail tech who also did facials, makeup, laser hair removal, and was licensed to do Botox injections. Angela was a waxer and hair stylist, and Laurant was a versatile hair stylist who was well versed in ethnic hair as well. Everyone brought unique talents to the table.
I did giggle, when Edward asked an obviously flamingly-gay Laurant if he had a "white picket fence and family" dream. Laurant leaned forward, took Edward's hand in both of his, and said, "Oh, you sweet, beautiful man, I'm sorry I have to let you down. I'm in a committed relationship. I do hope to get the picket fence and family with my husband, Tyler, someday soon."
Edward looked a bit stunned. I knew he knew Laurant was gay, but I guessed he didn't realize his question could be misconstrued as a pick-up line. "I hope you do, too," Edward tacked on, and I went back to questioning Laurant about his resume and skills.
We had done a bit of light advertising in the area, mostly with flyers and a "coming soon" sign in front of the shop. We were planning a grand opening event with more advertising, but we wanted to get our feet wet and see how we worked together as a team, and check the flow of the shop to see if we needed to make any adjustments, before we pulled out the big guns.
Our soft opening day was coming fast. Jasper, Rosalie, Tanya, Jessica, and Angela had moved in upstairs, and had gotten their personal stations set up. Jasper had his piercing and tattoo equipment stashed in the body wax room. He did have one simple ear piercing gun at his station as well, though, and he put up a little pedestal display of earring studs. It actually looked very fancy and went perfectly with the décor.
I did have a little sign made to sit on our check-in counter and in his station that read, Petite permanent art designs by Jasper Whitlock. Done by appointment only.
Edward wasn't happy, but I reminded him how popular tramp stamps were. The fact that all four of the other girls working for us had a small tattoo of some sort sold him.
Edward got his buddy, Mike, to set up a webpage for us. We all had our hair done up and pictures taken for the page. When I listed the services we offered, I knew we were going to do great.
We had links that let people schedule their own body wraps, massage therapy sessions, private piercing, tattoos, waxing, and Botox injections. They just had to walk in and give their name, and we would take them to their room quietly, keeping the nature of their service private.
Everyone was dressed in crisp white dress shirts, with black slacks, shoes and vests. Jasper's shirt was long-sleeved, hiding his tattoos. The only visible piercings he had were his ears and his eyebrow. He wore pretty diamond studs in all of them that looked really classy.
I had a window sign made that was constructed of stiff material, which could be put in the window or out on the sidewalk. Only our spa name, The Cutting Edge, was on the shop window, along with our address, phone number and web address. Now we just had to wait for our customers.
We all bounced excitedly, when I flipped the sign to open. Of course, no one came in immediately, and after about ten minutes of waiting, we were getting antsy. Angela suggested we put the sign on the sidewalk, and Jasper went to give her a hand. I noticed a couple of women take notice of him, and of course, he gave them that flirty grin of his. Rosalie stepped outside, wondering what was going on, and she just happened to be flipping her shears around causally, catching a few more eyes. Laurant was next to follow, and I knew he'd caught the attention of a couple of black women, because he had his hair done up in some sort of fine corn row roses. He looked like he had a bouquet on his head. It was actually quite beautiful. They came over right away, and when they stepped in the door, I did a little happy dance. I looked over at Edward, who was grinning just as big and doing a jig of his own.
Jasper and Rose ushered in a few more customers, and we actually had people in the seating area now. Edward offered them wine and hors d'oeuvres as they waited. Rose proved her speed, and Jasper flirted while he trimmed. I was shampooing and getting Rose's next client ready.
Jasper had just finished up with his lady, when a woman came in with a little girl. I was writing them down for a mommy-daughter mani-pedi, when her daughter noticed the earring display. "Mommy, they have earrings! Can I get my ears pierced here? I don't want to wait until we go back to Seattle."
"Do you offer ear piercing?" the woman asked, surprised.
Jasper stepped forward with his charming southern drawl. "Yes, Ma'am, I'm licensed to pierce. I have my gun at my station."
"Piercing?" a younger customer asked, once the mother and daughter were distracted with picking out her studs.
"Yes, I have a back room for the fun ones," he winked and pointed at the sign that indicated concealed piercings required appointments. She giggled and immediately booked to have her belly button pierced.
Jasper gave the little girl a lollipop, after he'd pierced her ears, telling her in the sweetest voice that she'd done great and looked beautiful. Half the waiting room uttered "aw" at him. When I walked past Edward to get some more wine for our waiting customers, I whispered, "Told you Jasper would be a hit."
Edward rolled his eyes, but then Jasper walked past with belly button girl trailing happily behind him.
I left Edward to man the desk, when I took my first massage customer back. I really didn't think we'd be that busy, but people were on the phone calling their friends to come over. Laurant had his own little following of women who were just fascinated with his hair. What had started with two women, who had followed him in out of curiosity, quickly turned into six women, excitedly waiting for their appointments. I realized that our waiting room would be getting crowded fast, and I wondered if it would always be this busy. I had a feeling that it wouldn't be, but if it was, we'd be expanding a lot faster than I had thought.
By the end of the day, Jasper had done twelve piercings and had six tattoo appointments made, on top of the ten heads he'd done. Laurant had had ten head customers, but the extensive work he'd done on them had really raked in some dough. Rosalie, by far, was most shocking, doing thirty heads in one day. If it hadn't been for her speed, our waiting area would have been overflowing. Angela did eight heads and six facial waxings. Tanya and Jessica did ten mani-pedis each, a lot of the waiting customers having decided to wait in their massage chairs. I did six massages, two wraps and several shampoos, trying to keep up with Rose. Edward manned the receptionist desk and kept everyone's wine glasses full and the hors d'oeuvres coming.
When I looked at our upcoming schedule, I saw we also had three Brazilian waxes scheduled, as well as a few other types of intimate waxings. I wondered how Edward had kept it together, when he'd made those appointments.
We had our grand opening a couple of days later, and the following two weeks had our two back rooms booked solid. I was regretting not adding more rooms, but we hadn't known if things would go well. Business would most likely wane a little once the new wore off, but I had hired an excellent staff, and I knew we would have many repeat customers.
Several future "upkeep" appointments had been made for each one of our stylists and technicians. When we finally closed our doors at nine o'clock that night, we cheered and had our own bottle of wine with our feet kicked up. Tyler, Laurant's husband, joined us and teased Edward for trying to steal his man. Edward was so flustered, it was adorable. I think everyone in the shop got a kick out of giving Mr. Stuffy Pants Edward Cullen a hard time, but I hoped it wouldn't turn into anything more than just a little good-natured ribbing. I thought his innocence was endearing and would not tolerate more than that.